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Trapped in the Astral Planes Back from the dead
New Federal Marijuana Commission Could Help End Drug War
Art from the the End the War on Drugs campaignBack in the ’70s a big government commission recommended President Richard Nixon lift federal penalties for marijuana use.
The Commission stated, “The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only ‘with the greatest reluctance.”
But scumbag President Nixon promptly ignored the famed Shafer Commission and started a 43 year-old Drug War instead.
Proving history is one giant loop, on Thursday, Rep. Steve Cohen – a Democrat in Tennessee –introduced a bill to create a new “National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy”. The Commission would do the same thing as the Shafer Commission, perform a full review of the federal government’s current policies toward marijuana, given its legality in 19 states and growing.
“Regardless of your views on marijuana, it’s important that we understand the impact of current federal policy and address the conflict with those state laws that allow for medicinal or personal use of marijuana,” states Congressman Cohen. “This conflict is only going to continue to grow over the next few years and we must provide certainty to the millions of individuals and businesses that remain caught in a web of incompatible laws. A national commission would provide us with the information we need to create sensible policy going forward.”
Even though the Commission would essentially duplicate the work of the Shafer commission and spend more federal dollars we don’t have proving what 90 percent of Americans already believe – the Drug War is a total failure – drug law reformers are lining up to support it.
Rep. Cohen’s allies on the bill include Jared Polis (D-CO), Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR), Jim Moran (D-VA), and Sam Farr (D-CA). And you can join them too by clicking on this link from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and signing a letter to your Congressman.
Do you think the Shafer Commission Round II will give the next President enough political cover to do the right thing on marijuana? Either way, good luck, HR 1635. You’re gonna need it.
original source http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetrut...marijuana-commission-could-help-end-drug-war/
Posted on
April 23, 2013 at 8:44 am
by
in featured, LegalArt from the the End the War on Drugs campaign
The Commission stated, “The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only ‘with the greatest reluctance.”
But scumbag President Nixon promptly ignored the famed Shafer Commission and started a 43 year-old Drug War instead.
Proving history is one giant loop, on Thursday, Rep. Steve Cohen – a Democrat in Tennessee –introduced a bill to create a new “National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy”. The Commission would do the same thing as the Shafer Commission, perform a full review of the federal government’s current policies toward marijuana, given its legality in 19 states and growing.
“Regardless of your views on marijuana, it’s important that we understand the impact of current federal policy and address the conflict with those state laws that allow for medicinal or personal use of marijuana,” states Congressman Cohen. “This conflict is only going to continue to grow over the next few years and we must provide certainty to the millions of individuals and businesses that remain caught in a web of incompatible laws. A national commission would provide us with the information we need to create sensible policy going forward.”
Even though the Commission would essentially duplicate the work of the Shafer commission and spend more federal dollars we don’t have proving what 90 percent of Americans already believe – the Drug War is a total failure – drug law reformers are lining up to support it.
Rep. Cohen’s allies on the bill include Jared Polis (D-CO), Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR), Jim Moran (D-VA), and Sam Farr (D-CA). And you can join them too by clicking on this link from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and signing a letter to your Congressman.
Do you think the Shafer Commission Round II will give the next President enough political cover to do the right thing on marijuana? Either way, good luck, HR 1635. You’re gonna need it.
original source http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetrut...marijuana-commission-could-help-end-drug-war/